Gangs use graffiti in an attempt to intimidate other gangs or members of our community. Gangs also use graffiti to advertise its name, its territory, and members names. Graffiti is not an artistic expression. It is malicious destruction of property and contributes to other crimes.

It leads to overall psychological and physical decline of neighborhoods. Graffiti is vandalism and destruction of property that costs the city and people money. If graffiti is not removed, gang members will interpret this as a sign of low neighborhood pride and they will assume they can control the neighborhood. Graffiti will assist in the decline of property values.

For concrete walls, consider growing vines or ivy to cover the wall. Use dark paint on walled surfaces, graffiti does not show well against dark backgrounds. Plant prickly or spiny shrubs adjacent to walls to discourage access. Use graffiti-resistant coatings and protectants on exterior surfaces. Install security cameras.

Contact your local police department to report the crime. Once the police are notified, they will open an investigation and gather information. The reporting officer will send a clean up notification form to the City of Springdale Public Works Department. Once Public Works has been given the form they will set up a time with the property owner to remove the graffiti free of charge.

If you have not been contacted by the Public Works Department within 72 hours please contact Lisa Smith 479-750-8135 to verify that your property has been placed on the clean up list.

There are different procedures for each application based on the type of material the graffiti was placed on and the current temperatures outside. The City's preference would always be that the graffiti be "removed", but sometimes this is not possible so the graffiti would be "covered". If the city "removes" the graffiti it will be done with a high powered pressure washer and/or chemical graffiti remover. If the abatement tech deems that the power washer and/or chemical would cause more damage to the structure, the graffiti will be "covered" with a gray base coat paint that allows for complete coverage and serves as a primer coat for the owner to paint over matching the existing structure. The City will not match a particular color as this would be cost prohibitive to the taxpayers.

A monthly graffiti removal fee of $1.00 shall be billed on the municipal water bills of all commercial accounts. All graffiti removal fees collected by the Springdale Water Utilities under this section shall be transferred to the Public Works Department and be used solely and exclusively to provide graffiti removal services for commercial properties.